Xref: utzoo comp.misc:4838 talk.politics.soviet:975 Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!decwrl!hpstek.dec.com!simon From: simon@hpstek.dec.com (Curiosier and curiosier...) Newsgroups: comp.misc,talk.politics.soviet Subject: Re: USSR International Computer Club Message-ID: <8901290523.AA10179@decwrl.dec.com> Date: 29 Jan 89 08:05:00 GMT Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation Lines: 32 From: bcsaic!rwojcik 26-JAN-1989 18:05 simon@hpstek.dec.com (Curiosier and curiosier...) writes: >>It may sound all too well, but are you aware that the ordinary Soviet >>citizens may not own computer printers. It is illegal and punishable by >>law to a few years in prison. Do you still want to promote computer >>contacts with the Soviet Union? >Are you aware that computer disks have some advantages over printed matter? >They store more information per pound, they can be easily concealed, and they >can be easily transported. People in samizdat used to have to copy >manuscripts laboriously on typewriters. Computers can certainly be misused by >totalitarian regimes. In the end, however, they may signal the death knell of >totalitarianism, because they make it virtually impossible to control the flow >of information. Rick, I am afraid you are missing the point. There too few computers in the country. An IBM-PC compatible machine cost between 25K to 50K Rubles, 10 to 20 times average yearly salary. You can guess who can own them. If one got a disk, s/he still needs a computer to read it. The only way to distribute information there has been and is in print. There are no modems, etc. You got the idea. One shoud keep in mind that computer contacts with the USSR are not with ordinary people like you and me. These contacts are only with the government approved organizations at best or with the governmental agencies at worst. I am not advocating "computer silence", just suggesting to excercise caution. Leo Simon